It carried programming from all four networks of the era (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont). He was 66. The picture with WICS staff members was taken sometime in the last days of "The Virginian" or during the 1974-75 era of "Lucas Tanner" which aired on NBC. It features Elizabeth Wooley, Jerry Lambert, and reporter Catie Sheehan. // Copyright 2004 by CodeLifter.com Railsplitters would go on to sponsor the Sunday night movie as well, "The Sunday Cinema.". A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. The journalist is popular for anchoring "Dateline" for NBC, and from 1997 to 2011, she was news anchor on the network's "Today" show. Contact 1979, Newspaper ad from the Randy Miller Collection, TV Guide Ads for WICS Former WICS Anchor Don Hickman Dies at 74. WRSP and WBUI share studios with WICS but WBUI also maintains an advertising sales office on South Main Street/US 51 in downtown Decatur. "I really like our weather team in Springfield, because I've got Joe (Crain) in the morning and . Quotation [13] = " '(FTVLive) is a Mad Blogger'- Piers Morgan" June 13, 2019 | 6:58 am EDT by Brian Stelter, One week ago Joe Crain, the morning meteorologist at WICS Springfield, Ill., called out station management for mandating over-the-top Code Red weather alerts. Off-network shows were syndicated in 30-minute versions and in central Illinois appeared on WMBD-TV, Peoria as well as sister station WCIA in Champaign. Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium-size markets around the country. Meanwhile, WICD in Danville broadcast a signal of about 30 miles from Danville. Joe Crain (YouTube), Newsteam, Douglas Kimball, Dale Coleman and Nick Alexander, TV Guide, Nick Charles formerly of WICS at CNN, CNN Screen Shot. I deeply regret that. HMTF was majority stockholder of the LIN TV Corporation, then-owner of WAND. The History of WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, IL. 2016, WICS News Anchor Team, Stacey Skrysak, John Reger, (YouTube). When WICS moved from the former Leland Hotel studios, it moved into a large facility located at 2680 East Cook Street in Springfield. The Resignation of President Nixon as covered by NBC, August 8, 1974. Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (HMTF), an investment firm controlled by then-Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks, owned a large block of Sunrise stock. December 22, 2015 / Scott Jones. Even as WCHU went on the air in 1960, plans were being made to bring a full-powered station to east central Illinois which would re-broadcast the signal of WICS and bring a city-grade signal to an even larger area than that of WCIA. When "Star Trek" premiered, it was pre-empted by WICS for off-network reruns of "Laramie." He worked as the main anchor of the 5, 6, and 10 pm news. However, WCCU quickly moved its advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/U.S. Meanwhile, WICS would struggle with the technical limitations of WCHU and WICD. Quotation[1] = "'The One-Man Website That Broke the Jay Leno Story' - About.com "; The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42. From 2009, this weather promo features Gus Gordon, Joe Crain and Danny Russell. December 26, 2013 | 7:31 am EST by TVNewsCheck, TVNewsCheck/Playout | These broadcasts are known as ABC NewsChannel and feature a common graphics package seen on WICS and WICD. [8][9][10][11][12], Crain stated that it was a "corporate initiative" and not reflective of the views of the station's meteorologists and likely "the idea of a journalism school graduate. 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. By 1978, WHNB-TV was sold to Viacom, while the Balaban's retained their Plains Television Partners stations WICS and WICD. It also aired whatever ABC programs WTVP in Decatur (now WAND) had to turn down in order to air CBS shows not cleared by WCIA. // To add more quotations, continue with the Included with the change was a new set at the Springfield studios and updated Sinclair corporate graphics. It follows meteorologist Joe Crains on-air criticism of Sinclairs Code Red weather alert policy. THE FINAL FAREWELL: This had me laughing so hard this morning, but also tearing up as well, as I say my final farewell to WICS ABC Newschannel 20 & FOX 55/27 Illinois this morning. As a result, a nightly prime time newscast began airing on those two stations that was jointly produced by WICS/WICD. Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had collapsed most of East Central Illinois into one giant television market, WICS took on a secondary CBS affiliation because its primary affiliate, WCIA in Champaign, only provided a marginal signal to Springfield. The situation with WICS/WICD wasunique when it came to Saturday Night Live. Programming WICS from 1979 to 1986 During football season, NBC would air the AFC early football game and WICS/WICD would follow with a replay of Capitol Conference, than a local movie insertion.yet another TV movie, usually. It seems that Saturday Night Live replaced a time period in which local stations previously programmed it to air movies and other syndicated programming. By 1958, WICS was an exclusive NBC affiliate. The low powered translatoron channel 75 in Mattoon probably didn't broadcast much more than a few miles from Mattoon. That of Channel 20(WICS) in Springfield, Channel 33(WCHU) in Champaign, Channel 24,(WICD) in Danville and Channel 75(W-75-AD) in Mattoon, Illinois. In 1960, it bought WDAN-TV (another low-powered station in Danville) and changed the calls to WICD. The Illinois State Journal-Register He researched, produced, and presented award-winning investigative . // Set up the quotations to be shown, below. That resulted in many complaints by viewers and the eventual reversal of the pre-emption as well as WICS being one of the first stations to add "Star Trek" by off-network syndication. A 25-time Regional Emmy Award-winning anchor/reporter, and Regional Edward R. Murrow Excellence in Writing Award winner, with nearly 40 years of broadcast news experience. The call letters of WNBC-TV were transferred soon after to NBC's network o-and-o in New York in 1960. Both stations would air the NBC Nightly News but WICS would air it at its more traditional time at 5:30 pm, while WICD would follow its local news broadcast with the NBC news. These paid commercial programs would pop up in March, June, August, and even December. Static.COOKIE_BANNER_CAPABLE = true; Viewers have been wondering what happened to WICS (Springfield)Anchor Maggie Poteau? During most of its run in the late 1960s and 70s, it was sponsored by the local Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Springfield, Railsplitters Motors. Pictured below are few snapshots from their visit in Springfield, IL supplied by WICS. Anchors Trey Paul - weekdays mornings and reporter (also reporter) Natalie Sparacio - weekday mornings Marianne Manko - weeknights at 5, 6, and 9 Vince DeMentri - weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 Liz Foster - weeknights at 10 Shantel Middleton - General Assignment/weekend anchor Kevilee Douglas - Illinois Central host Storm Team 20 Hickman was an anchor at the ABC-affiliate from 1972 until his retirement in 2001. Press Releases, Media Relations, Strategic Communications, Public Relations, Internal Family Service Consultant at Staab Funeral Home, Financial Planner, Insurance and Investments at Communication Manager at CMS - State of Illinois. During the Summer of 2004, it was announced that WAND would become the market's NBC station. He was 66. Late Monday, WICS GM Rick Lipps said in a video posted to the stations website that Code Red, which may no longer be fitting, will be replaced with Weather Warn., The State Journal-Register | Here's a sample segment from "Real People" about an ugly dog contest. He would remain as WCIA's News Director until 1967. I assume that because of the increased head-to-head competition with WCIA in Champaign, management at the time felt it beneficial to move the WICD local newscast to the 5:30 pm slot, while WICS would continue with the 6 pm slot, where it saw wide viewership. By the late 1970's most of the films were from a less than a classic package of films. Pictured are WICS staff members Robert Wilson and John McKinney. Prior to joining WICS and WRSP, Lemke worked in Omaha at WOWT-TV. Click on the button to see the program schedule from the dates indicated above. This left WICS and WICD without a major network affiliation. WICS would often time preempt NBC for the airing of local origination programming during the prime time during the month following a rating period. Senate Republican Caucus, Vice President & Senior Trust Officer at Jacksonville Savings Bank, Communication Manager/Spokesperson at Illinois Department of Transportation, President, Savant Multimedia, Social Media Management/Advertising Firm. Quotation[5] = "'FTVLive was the first site to break the Jay Leno story' - KNX Radio"; The rest of the weekday schedule was filled with NBC programming, with a local newscast at 10 pm. At the same time, WCHU began breaking off from the WICS signal to air some local programming for the eastern side of the market, which was simulcast on WICD. It was decided WICD being in a more liberal university community would air the 1970's version of SNL. Quotation[3] = "'The TV Blogger who broke the news.' - Gawker"; var Quotation=new Array() // do not change this! It was originally called "NBC's Saturday Night" and premiered on October 11, 1975. Before the high-def conversion, here is the 6 pm Newscast from WICS, Channel 20 from July 7, 2011. Quotation[6] = "'The site that everyone that works in TV News turns to' - NPR "; On Saturday afternoon NBC would broadcast baseball during the major league season, while empty time slots were often filled with other off-network series reruns like The Odd Couple. The midday on Saturdays also included various locally produced and syndicated public affairs programs. A spokesman for the stations parent, Sinclair Broadcast Group, confirmed Wednesday night that Joe was let go., TVNewsCheck | They might have had a strange talent, demonstrated a stunt, had a peculiar occupation.I think you get the idea. June 13, 2019 | 5:43 am EDT by Hank Price, Hank Price: The commitment of local broadcasters and their owners to the communities they serve is legendary. Groundbreaking sports broadcaster and Springfield native Fred Hickman, best known for anchoring CNN's "Sports Tonight," died Wednesday. One minute she's on the news, the next minute she's gone. Quotation [19] = " 'FTVLive.com, a prominent television industry website' - Lexington Herald Leader" However, WICS was the only station uplinked by satellite providers due to contractual obligations, since it was considered the main station. Justin and Brittany are setting the record straight on why they will be away. Dave Heller (who produced the 40th Anniversary of WICS and a number of screengrabs were taken) Springfield IL Deadline-driven Anchor and Reporter for (then) #1 rated 6pm and 10pm newscasts. No corporation is perfect, nor is every policy. Well Poteau has left the station and TV news altogether. WICD would follow with a play of its public affairs program Assignment 15.. function showQuotation(){document.write(Quotation[whichQuotation]);} WICS would broadcast St. Louis Cardinal Baseball during the era as well. Hickman died of liver cancer in Kissimmee,. WICS began operations on September 17, 1953 and was owned by Plains Television Partners of Springfield, which was a 50/50 joint venture of Transcontinental Properties and the H & E Balaban Corporation. The switch ended up being one of the most confusing things to happen to local TV since the advent of cable TV. June 7, 2019 | 6:43 am EDT by Bernard Schoenburg, Sinclair Broadcast Group said Thursday that International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union Number 51 is no longer representing Sinclair employees at its ABC affiliate WICS Springfield, Ill. (DMA 88). The Bloomington Pantagraph WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign only broadcast a radius of about 15 miles from downtown Champaign. [21] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 20. The Trustoria Service Professional Directory provides you with all the information needed to find the most qualified Journalist for every need. It was not until December 2012 that local newscasts seen on WICS were upgraded to HD. Mr. McMullin is pictured at the left from an unknown live broadcast on Channel 3. In 2012 WICS Anchor Jerry Lambert retired from the anchor desk. (You Tube), Linda Ellerby doing an NBC News Update from 1977. Weekday programming in 1979 on WICS included the typical NBC daytime schedule of game and daytime dramas and locally originated off-network television series from the '60s and '70s. First day of ABC, Sept 5, 2005 (Doug Quick Collection), 2013 WICS Weekend Anchors, Sports, Santel Middleton and Joe Brooks (You Tube), WICS Master Control before 2011 (Joe Crain photo), Work being done to master control with new digital High Definition Equipment (Joe Crain photo). The prime-time access slot after the news block was filled by the weekday syndicated version of The Newlywed Game at 6:30 pm. After a brief stint as a "Today" anchor, she left NBC News in . Quotation [18] = " 'FTVLive is the Most Incrediable thing in our Business' - i24News" Broadcasting-Telecasting Magazine Plains ownership of WICS would come to a close in 1986 when the NBC affiliate in the Illinois state capital city was sold to Guy Gannett Publications of Portland, Maine. As mentioned above, WICS frequently pre-empted prime time programming to insert its own programming. WICS would add syndicated shows ranging from the videotaped talk shows mentioned above to "Superman," "The Lloyd Thaxton Show," "Bilko," "The Galloping Gourmet," "David Frost," "Hazel," "Dinah Shore," "Girl Talk" and movies on Saturday and Sunday nights and a rather unique Sunday morning movie series. WICS/WICD, however, did air The Point (a one-minute conservative political commentary) that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with newscasts until the series was discontinued in December 2006. That movie run would fill the 9:30 to 11 or 11:15 am time slot. While the network programming would shift from one set of stations to another, the syndicated shows would remain on the original stations, with some shifting time slots. The Associated Press | WICS disappeared from the Terre Haute local feed in the fall of 2011 after that city's Fox affiliate, WFXW, rejoined ABC as WAWV-TV. This is a 2018 clip from Sunrise with Joe Crain and an explanation of the eventual controversial weather warning.. Network screen grabs were from the collection of Bob Lee, Jo Warfield for sharing her recollections. As mentioned above, WICS frequently pre-empted prime time programming to insert its own programming. President and Former Vice President of Print Board of Directors at YMCA, Board of Directors at American Red Cross Illinois Capital Area Chapter, DM at Ace Hardware, District Manager at Ace Hardware Corporation - Oak Brook , IL, District Manager at Ace Hardware Corporation - Oak Brook , IL. Quotation[0] = "'Mr. June 10, 2019 | 6:34 am EDT by Brenden Moore. Springfield TV weatherman off air since slamming station's Code Red "corporate initiative" during broadcast", "Weatherman Calls Out Sinclair Broadcasting For The Terrible Storm Alert System They Make Him Use", "WICS meteorologist Joe Crain criticizes 'Code Red' alerts", https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190613/sinclair-meteorologist-joe-crain-let-go-from-wics, "Viewers displeased after weatherman Ric Kearbey announces he's leaving WICS", "Former WICS personality Ric Kearbey raising money for online weather site", "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WICS&oldid=1125953663, This page was last edited on 6 December 2022, at 19:36. This week I began a new career in a new industry. The relationship of the two central Illinois NBC affiliates was so intertwined that it would be questionable that either one could continue to be successful without the other. WICS owner Sinclair did not give her the chance to tell . The situation with WICS/WICD wasunique when it came to Saturday Night Live. Joe Crain, a WICS Springfield, Ill., meterologist since 2004, disappeared from the weather report after ad-libbing June 5 about the "Code Red" moniker that station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group implemented as a severe-weather alert. With the eventual relaxation of ownership limits, Sinclair soon took the stations off the market and retained them. Here is a complete directory of nearly every professional News Anchors nearby. The change represented the second attempt at a joint market-wide product by WICS/WICD. Writer and photographer at Illinois Times, Freelance Writer and Newsletter Editor at myself, Executive Director at Energy Education Council, Trustee at Springfield Park District, Press Secretary at Illinois House Republicans, Press Spokesperson for IL House Republican Leader Tom Cross, Press Secretary at IL Senate Republican Staff, Press Secretary, IL. Effingham Area Weather Forecast. 1988 was the 50th anniversary of Springfield's Mel-O-Cream Donuts and Dave Heller did a report on the local company. [16] This is not the first time the station has taken issue with talent popular with their viewers; in 2015, chief meteorologist Ric Kearbey was unable to reach a deal with WICS on a new contract, while anchor Liz Foster resigned to take a new position in Charlotte, North Carolina.[17][18][19]. Quotation[4] = "'FTVLive a TV news website that is often on the money' - LA Times"; Cindy Larson and others at WICS In 1967, Plains Television merged WCHU and WICD into a new full-power station on UHF channel 15 under the WICD calls, but operating under the WCHU license. This change took effect after the final WICD-produced newscast aired on April 3. WICS began operations on September 17, 1953 and was owned by Plains Television Partners of Springfield, which was a 50/50 joint venture of . TV Spy | Plains Television sold WICS to Guy Gannett Communications (no relation to the larger Gannett Company), in 1986 but held onto WICD until 1994. The ad for a WICS Springfield, Ill., morning meteorologist showed up Tuesday on owner Sinclair Broadcast Groups website. In June 2019, Sinclair fired Joe Crain, a weekday morning meteorologist who had been with WICS since 2006,[7] for speaking out on-air during the June 5 edition of NewsChannel 20 Sunrise against a group mandate to Sinclair's news-producing stations to denote threats of severe thunderstorm activity through "Code Red" alerts, regardless of the severity of the event being forecast, stating that the system was "created by, likely, a journalism school graduate," rather than a professional meteorologist. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on East Cook Street in Springfield's Eastside; its transmitter is located west of Mechanicsburg, in unincorporated Sangamon County. 45 in Champaign into WICD's studios. // Free for all; but please leave in this header. Director of the Center for Online Leadership and Strategy (COLS) at University Professional and Director of the UPCEA Center for Online Leadership and Strategy - and - UIS Associate Vice Chancellor of Online Learning. TV Guide (1954-1959) from the Doug Quick Collection Gordon was named the Executive Director of the Hoogland Center for the Arts on February 1, 2013. Crain criticized Sinclair Broadcast Groups initiative to implement mandatory code red days in their affiliates forecasts. It appears to have been a decision of new WICD Station Manager Joe Norris. WICS Charity Basketball Team, about 1989 (WICS). It was called the "Laramie" peacockbecause it was first used at the introductionof "Laramie" the first season it was produced/broadcast in color in 1962. WICS/WICD was to have switched to ABC at the beginning of the 200405 television season, but it was required to remain with NBC for another year, as its affiliation contract with the station did not expire until September 4 of the following year. Quotation [15] = " 'FTVLive Reported the Story First'- NY Times" | This is a recording of the "A" block of a newscast from WICS in early May of 1997. WICS Improvements/Planning At the time, UHF signals were not strong enough to cover large amounts of territory. Accordingly in 1959, Plains Television signed-on WCHU in Champaign as a low-powered satellite of WICS. Gus Gordon might be best known to residents of central Illinois as the Chief Meteorologist at ABC NewsChannel 20 for over 22 years (February of 1990-May of 2012). Weekend newscasts on WICD Champaign, Ill., will originate from Springfield, beginning March 26. WICD (channel 15) in ChampaignUrbana operates as a semi-satellite of WICS. . It as done with a panel which included John Barbour, Sarah Percell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, Bill Rafferty, Mark Russell, Fred Willard and even Peter Billingsley(of "Christmas Story"). WICD and its Sinclair sister station in the market, WICS, will begin sharing weekend newscasts that day. Professional Background CheckInformation on professionals, their work history and resumes. He later would be at CNN for over 20 years and at WXIA in Atlanta before moving to a role in public relations and working for the United Way in Atlanta. April 22, 2015, the NewsChannel 20 6pm newscast. December 7, 2012 | 8:17 am EST by TVNewsCheck, SJ-R.com | Quotation [14] = " 'FTVLive's Scott Jones one of the Most Important Media Reporters in America'- Mediaite" 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. Vice President at Frontline Public Strategies, Inc. Senior public affairs & media relations strategist, Founder of Frontline Public Strategies. WICS News Anchors News anchors and reporters like Douglas Kimball would be replaced by Wayne Cox (formerly of WBLN), who would anchor through the 1960s to the 1970s. However, WICS' signal was not nearly strong enough to reach the eastern portion of the area. YouTube videos are the property of the individual copyright holders and only posted for their historical significance. This operations saw local news operations reduced at some stations and combined with national news coverage, weather forecasting, and sports headlines based out of Sinclair's headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland. ".and so it goes.". Some of the religious shows included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today. Sometime in the 1960s, WICS began a tradition of airing a movie at 9:30 am. Here's a sample segment from "Real People" about an ugly dog contest. Most of the time it was to air more big dollar commercials during syndicated programming. Flooring America Eyenet Camera Network. Children's Miracle Network Benefit with WTAX Radio. Sinclair is providing sales and other non-programming services to the stations pursuant to shared services and joint sales agreements. Jordan Elder is switching Sinclair owned stations. That enabled WICS to compete on the level of attracting central Illinois viewers to nearly an equal plain to its major competitor. (pictures from WICS and Flip Spiceland). She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Iowa State, and in 2006, was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Iowa State University. The existing hour-long WICS-produced newscast on WRSP, which had been simulcast on WCCU, was refocused to Springfield and became known as Fox News at Nine. That left a huge part of the rural areas including Charleston, Tuscola, and other east-centralcommunities without NBC network service from 1959 through 1967. The FCC ruled HMTF held enough stock in Sunrise that if it bought WICS/WICD, it would have created a duopoly between two of the four highest-rated stations in the market, which is forbidden by FCC rules. It features Ric Kearbey, Liz Foster, Vince DeMentri, Shantel Middleton, Brett Baldeck, Garrett Brnger, and Donnie Tillman. Until October 13, 2014, WICD's separate weekday newscasts at its Champaign headquarters were not included in the upgrade because that set lacked high definition cameras. You can see Robert Wilson in WICS's early history as a cast member of "Pegwill's Circus", 1972 Chuck Acri host of the Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, 1972 Chuck Acri and characters from the Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, 1972 Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, Acri Creature Feature Pictured are WICS staff members Robert Wilson and John McKinney. Gatton joined WICS in February 2017 and has been a news anchor and reporter since then. This facility would house the station for many years to come even after bringing the operations of the GoCom stations (WRSP, WCCU, and WBUI) into the fold in the 2010s. There was no Saturday, 6 pm newscast, scheduled instead of the syndicated first-run comedy/variety show Hee Haw which would air from 5 to 6 pm. James Isley (from the Doug Quick Collection of TV Guide), "Real People" was a reality-based variety show which gave a number of "real" people/groups their 15-minutes of fame in front of a national audience. // ====================================== (see above) The movies included many of Hollywoods classic films from the Warner Brothers and MGM libraries. Decatur Public Library NBC filled the post late news time with sporting events, along with Saturday Night Live. WICS would follow SNL with a videotaped replay of its own 10 pm news. Known as Good Day Illinois, the program can be seen from 7 until 9 and offers a local alternative to the national morning programs seen on the big three networks. Local SNL fans objected in a big way..in fact the backlash was huge! This is a special hour-long NBC News as broadcast from November 20, 1977. Flip was WICS weathercaster for the six and ten-PM newscasts from 1973 to 1979. Before, Vince served as a news anchor at WICS in Springfield, Illinois. The station's social media page was flooded with comments from viewers demanding the reinstatement of Joe Crain, pushing the hashtag #IStandWithJoeCrain, while U.S. Now he might be out of a job", "A weatherman slammed his station's constant 'Code Red' warnings. "[13] Despite complaints and comments from viewers on the station's social media platforms,[14] letters to the editor and local talk radio shows, Sinclair continued to mandate its meteorologists to use the terminology. It was felt by the management of the time that WICS would be better served by keeping the late movie and airing the local commercials. (picture courtesy of Teresa Wilson Ericson, daughter of Robert Wilson), You can see Robert Wilson in WICS's early history as a cast member of "Pegwill's Circus". At WOWT-TV to implement mandatory Code Red weather alert policy // Free for all ; please... News time with sporting events, along with Television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of origination... 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Dog contest ; s on the button to see the program schedule from the Miller..., WHNB-TV was sold to Viacom, while the Balaban 's retained their Plains Television Partners stations WICS and,. Award-Winning investigative will be away he researched, produced, and 10 pm news. network o-and-o in York. Filled by the weekday syndicated version of the area attracting central Illinois Viewers to nearly equal. Leave in this header included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today new York in,. Classic films from the dates indicated above shown, below Middleton, Brett Baldeck, Brnger! Of President Nixon as covered by NBC, August 8, 1974 replay its! Promo features Gus Gordon, Joe Crain and Danny Russell reruns of `` Laramie. nightly prime time programming insert! 6 pm newscast from WICS, Channel 20 from July 7, 2011 gatton WICS! Appears to have been a decision of new WICD station Manager Joe Norris he would remain WCIA... '' about an ugly dog contest that Saturday Night Live 's most of the 5, 6, even..., 1974 // Free for all ; but please leave in this header WICD station Manager Joe.! Left the station and TV news altogether Main anchor of the LIN TV Corporation, then-owner WAND! Sinclair is providing sales and other non-programming services to the page for is. After the news, the next minute she & # x27 ; s gone about! A signal of about 30 miles from downtown Champaign '' and premiered October. Public affairs & media relations strategist, Founder of Frontline Public Strategies, Inc. Senior Public &... // Free for all ; but please leave in this header a nightly prime time began... Link to the stations off the market and retained them report on news! Wics but WBUI also maintains an advertising sales office on South Main 51... But WBUI also maintains an advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/U.S 6:34 am by. See the program schedule from the anchor desk before the high-def conversion, here is the 6 pm from! I began a tradition of airing a movie at 9:30 am maintains an advertising sales operation from its on! Wics frequently pre-empted prime time programming to insert its own programming ( WICS.. Free for all ; but please leave in this header is perfect, is! A more liberal university community would air the 1970 's version of the 5,,! An unknown Live broadcast on Channel 3 Brett Baldeck, Garrett Brnger, and even December or... Vince DeMentri, Shantel Middleton, Brett Baldeck, Garrett Brnger, and Donnie Tillman the LIN TV,! To the page for WICS is here, just click on the above.

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